by Annie Jocoby
I had to stay in the hospital for seven days. For seven days, Luke and I brainstormed from my hospital bed. Once my decision was made to keep Olivia, it became a matter of Luke and I putting our energies into figuring it all out.
There was so much to do, so much to figure out. Not just about getting a DNA test and hiring an aggressive lawyer. But also about what Luke and I were going to do for money once we got back. Luke finally admitted to me that he was hoping that Marcella might be a good connection for him there in London, and he asked me if I minded if he had lunch with her to pick her brain. Ask her if she knew anybody in New York who might be able to connect him to the right people again.
I told him that I was fine with that, and Luke did have lunch with her one day and came back and reported that Marcella did, in fact, know other artists who lived in the Village and had formed a co-op like they had in London. The artists all had different kinds of mediums and genres, so they all helped one another. Luke also reported that the group would be a good fit for him, according to Marcella, and he had the names and numbers of some of the artists. Marcella had assured Luke that they would welcome him with open arms.
And hopefully me, too. I had gotten out of my art during my pregnancy, just because the pregnancy and Nottingham had consumed my thoughts during that time. Composing was low on my list, unfortunately. But my mind was clearing up every day, now that I made a decision on exactly what to do, and I was happy with the decision, so I was itching to get back to my canvas. Truth be told, I wasn’t happy at all about my other decisions to run and to try to blackmail Nottingham. I wasn’t happy, and my gut told me that these actions weren’t right. I ignored my gut, of course, and I shuddered to think that kind of disaster might have befallen me if I would have continued on with my previous course of action.
As for my posing nude, now that I was pregnant, I doubted very seriously that I would return to the nude modeling thing. Not that I wouldn’t be in demand – pregnant women often were very much in demand, because many artists enjoyed painting the pregnant female form. Burgeoning breasts and bellies often made for a very sensual and voluptuous portrait.
But I wanted to get away from all of that. There was something inside of me that was just now kicking in. The maternal instinct. I suddenly wanted to leave behind all of my questionable choices and do everything right. Not that posing nude was morally questionable, of course. But I felt almost embarrassed for doing it. I didn’t know why I felt embarrassed. I only knew that I did.
So, our conversations centered around the practicalities of all that Luke and I had to do when we got back to the States.
“Okay,” I said. “So, I think that I should hire Marissa Herschel. Nick highly recommends her, and I liked her a lot when I went to see her. She specializes in family law, too, and I know that she knows all the major cases that are relevant here. She might look like a little petite aunt, but her reputation is solid.”
Luke was nodding his head. “Okay. Well, I checked out this Steve Singleton guy. The one that Marissa said Nottingham has on permanent retainer. Aggressive isn’t the word, according to the online reviews of his work. There’s been a shit-ton of bar complaints against him for some of the shady stuff that he pulls, but he’s gotten out of every one. It seems that he knows just where the line is as far as ethics go, and he goes right up to it, without going over it. He’s a clever one, I can tell you that.”
“Well, he’s a bully, sounds like. Marissa might be the right person to counteract that. She’s not a bully. She obviously has a different approach to litigating her cases than Steve does, and that just might do us justice. She wins a lot of her cases, too. I’ve been doing my own research on her cases, and I’ve seen some doozies that she’s managed to pull off.”
“As long as she can hold her own against a bully, then you might be right. I would much rather have a lawyer that knows the art of finesse than a bull in a China shop.”
“Me too.”
So, it was settled. Marissa Herschel would be my attorney. But I wasn’t quite sure when I would be able to go back home. It would all depend on when my doctor assessed that I was out of the woods as far as my hormone levels and bed rest. I didn’t call her to make an appointment from my hospital bed, although I was really itching to.
Next thing was getting a DNA test. I did my research and found out that I could get an accurate DNA test from 10 weeks on. Since I was already past that point, Luke and I got online and found a lab that could do this testing as soon as I was released from the hospital. This was crucial – I wanted to have these results as soon as possible. Not just because I wasn’t 100% positive that Luke was the father, although that was a factor. I felt it in my gut that Luke was the dad, and I always had felt that way. I had no doubt that the DNA test would be affirmative in that regard.
But I couldn’t be 100% sure until we actually got the test results. So, I was anxious to get that done.
I also wanted the DNA test for a very practical reason – I wanted my ducks lined up before I set foot on United States’ soil.
On and on and on Luke and I talked, the entire time that I laid in that hospital bed. It felt wonderful, because we were bonding again. I was starting to feel that there was a barrier between him and I ever since I was pregnant, and I worried about that. I had secretly worried that perhaps Luke wasn’t happy about the pregnancy.
But it wasn’t that at all. Luke just wasn’t happy with my ideas about handling the pregnancy and handling Nottingham. Once I decided to do things the right way, the tension had disappeared.
We were best friends again, and I still felt that spark of electricity every time he touched me. The tingle of excitement.
And my hormones were going wild. I realized, several times during that week, that I wanted him in the worst way possible. If only the doctor would give me the green light, I know that I would have ripped off his clothes and have him fuck me right there in that hospital bed. And why not? It was a private room, courtesy of the wealthy Liam.
But I knew that I couldn’t risk anything going wrong, just because I let my lust for Luke get the best of me.
Chapter 11
I finally was released from the hospital. My hormone levels were finally in check. The doctor did caution me that I might have a chance of a difficult pregnancy, so I needed to be diligent about my prenatal checkups. More diligent than most women, he cautioned.
“Of course,” I said. “I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize this pregnancy for the world at this point.”
And, the first thing that we did was arrange for the DNA test to occur right there in that same hospital. I gave some blood and Luke gave a hair sample. I had already spoken with a counselor about this occurring, so it was just a matter of giving the samples to the lab and the results would be available in just over a week.
I was nervous about that, but not really. I had learned, long ago, to trust my gut. Which was why it was so embarrassing to realize that I had almost done something really stupid and against my gut instinct in trying to blackmail Nottingham instead of fighting him fair and square.
My gut was screaming that Luke was the father, and it always had been.
Liam sent a limo to pick me up on the day that I was released, as he was working that day.
While I sat in the back of the limo, I made an appointment with Marissa to come in the following week. Again, I needed my ducks in a row. With my DNA test and Marissa on retainer, I knew that I had a fighting chance.
The issue of my paying for Marissa, of course, was still up in the air. Luke insisted on using the leftover money from his show to pay the retainer. I was just as insistent that I was going to use my father’s money to pay. We needed to live on the rest of Luke’s money, which was just over $50,000 by then, after he took out money for his taxes and he had paid for most of the expenses that we incurred while staying with Liam.
Little did I know that this soon wouldn’t even be as much of an issue.
When Luke and I arrived at Liam�
�s, to my surprise, Neil and the other Pixxallators was sitting in the kitchen with their instruments in hand. Liam grinned and came up to me, putting his arm around me. “Lass, you’re home. You’re looking well, too.”
“I feel well, thanks so much,” I said. Then I looked at the boys and back to Liam questioningly.
“Ah, well, this is a surprise for you and Luke.” Liam was smiling broadly. He looked almost mischievous.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t understand.” I felt uncomfortable seeing Neil again. For his part, he looked mildly embarrassed. After all, he was pretty drunk the last time I saw him and he was so blunt about what he wanted with me.
Liam just smiled and said to the boys “hit it.”
They did, and Luke immediately recognized the song. “Hey, that’s one of mine.” He looked astonished. “I mean, I have to admit that the arrangement is slightly different then the way that I wrote it, but it sounds pretty cool nonetheless.”
My heart soared. Did this mean that the boys wanted to record one of Luke’s songs? It was a cool song, too. The lyrics rang of heartbreak and despair, and I surmised that this might have been one of the songs that Luke composed after we broke up. The arrangement was different than what I had imagined for one of Luke’s songs, too, as I had listened to Luke’s songs, and he almost a grungy sound. This arrangement was airy and light, despite the dark lyrics, and it definitely reminded me of something that would have been recorded in the early 1980s by Tears for Fears or something. Other parts of the song echoed the lush vibe of 311.
After they were done with the song, Liam just smiled at me. “Lass, I wanted to surprise you.” He turned to Luke. “I’ve been listening to your songs, mate. You’ve got a lot of talent. I also think that the Pixxallators would be perfect for at least three of your songs. Let’s talk terms.”
Luke still looked just a bit shocked. He had no idea that I had given Liam his songs. I never told him, as I was afraid that Liam wouldn’t like them, and I didn’t want Luke’s feelings to be hurt if that were the case.
Finally, Luke shook his head. “Uh, yeah, yeah, sure. I’m just surprised. I mean, I’ve thought about asking you about listening to some of my songs, but I was too embarrassed.” He looked at me and smiled. “But sounds like Dalilah didn’t have the same compunction. Lucky me.”
So, Luke and Liam went into the library, presumably to talk about drawing up a contract.
Neil, for his part, came up to me. “I’m sorry about being so rude the other night, Dalilah. It was the liquor talking, I promise you.”
“Not at all,” I said. “You guys did a great job with Luke’s song.”
“We’ve practiced some of his other ones as well. I think that they have potential. Would you like to hear them?”
“I’d love to,” I said.
So, the boys played three other songs. I was surprised at the range. One was more of a ballad, but the boys put their own special touch with it. I smiled as I listened to the lyrics, imagining that Luke wrote this song with me in mind. The other two were more up-tempo, and I could definitely hear Luke’s words in them. They were heart-felt, even with the peppier arrangements.
I loved all of them.
About an hour later, Luke and Liam came out of the library. Both men looked happy.
“Dalilah,” he said. “I have to have this agreement looked over by an attorney, of course, but it sounds like a good one. Liam has offered me $15,000 for my four songs, plus royalties if the boys decide to record them. That could really add up, although I have to admit that I’m naïve when it comes to this sort of thing. I never imagined that my songs would sell, so I never imagined that I would be in this position.” Luke then went into the intricacies of the proposed contract, talking about how much he would get every time the boys performed the songs in concert verses how much he would get from the recorded versions of the songs, and how all of that would be calculated.
I listened, interested. “So, if any one of these songs is a hit, then that could add up to a lot of money, huh?”
“It could,” he said. “But the up-front would be really helpful. That’s another $15,000 that we can put towards your legal fees.”
I sighed. “Luke, I-“
“Nope. I’m going to take care of you, Dalilah. That’s what men do. Your dad doesn’t have to get involved at all. You and I can get a place together, we’ll watch our pennies, and we’ll make this all work out. I got art, and, once you start creating, too, we’ll both be bringing in a good income. In the meantime, we have this money from Liam, assuming that I agree to these terms, plus the leftover money from my show, and some good leads from Marcella on making more money from my art. We’ll make this work, Dalilah. You and me.”
At that moment, I didn’t think that I could love a man more.
Chapter 12
That night, after the boys left the house, and all of us had dinner out in the sun porch, Luke and I went up to our room. It was really the first time that I had been in that room and not felt a sense of foreboding or urgency. A sense of stress and tension. All of that was gone, and, for right at that moment, I felt a sense of calm. Of peace. I had made my decision, and, although I knew that it was far from a slam dunk – about as far from a slam dunk as could possibly be – just the fact that I had a course of action made me feel like I was finally in control of the situation.
So¸ I was finally ready to concentrate on other things. Mainly Luke. And how I was feeling about him. He was showing himself to be the man that I had always wanted – strong, protective, with a good sense of ethics. I loved that he stood up to me when I was going to go down the wrong path, and I loved that he was so willing to make sure that he and I were a team in this endeavor. He wasn’t about to make me twist in the wind, so to speak. He was going to be right there.
I laid down on the bed, and he laid down next to me. Both of us were really exhausted from the whirlwind few weeks that we had spent in London. But that didn’t really matter, right at that moment. Because we had each other, and I was feeling so horny right then, I just couldn’t stand it any longer.
He put his hand in my hair, and kissed my forehead, his eyes closed. I closed my eyes, too, and breathed in his scent of faint cologne and man. “Things are going to be okay, Dalilah,” he said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
And I knew that he would. I felt safe and protected right at that moment, and that feeling, combined with the knowledge that Luke was going to be an amazing father, was enough to make me feel pure intoxication. “I know, Luke. I know that now.”
I didn’t want to talk about all that, though. What was ahead of us wasn’t on my mind right at that moment. What was on my mind was a sense of pure animal lust. As Luke gently ran his hand along my arm, causing all of my hairs to stand on end, I sighed. My breath was already starting to become heavy, as he gently touched me.
Then he started kissing me. Gently at first, then more insistent. His lips were drinking in mine, while he left hand was on my cheek, stroking it gently. I put his hand on my crotch, and he stroked it through my jeans. He lay on top of me, and I could feel his erection standing at attention through his own pants. He gently thrust against me as he continued to kiss me.
Then he started stroking my stomach, and he deftly detached my bra with one flick of his finger. He ran his hand on my swelling breast, and lightly fingered my nipple. His finger swirled around the nipple while he continued to gently thrust into me through his jeans. I bucked up a little, my wetness meeting his hardness, and then I put my hand in my pants and fingered myself. I was soaking wet at that point, so I put my finger inside of myself, and groaned with pure pleasure.
Luke looked at me. “I have to say that I’m nervous. I don’t want anything to happen to the little one.”
“Nothing will, I promise. I’m out of the woods, and the doctor said that I could do this. In fact, he encouraged me to. Please fuck me.”
“You don’t have to ask twice,” he said with a smile.
Then he
put his own finger in my wet pussy, and swirled it around inside. I groaned as he also put his thumb on my clit, and rubbed it gently. He kissed my neck, and pulled off my top. While one of his hands was gently fingering me, the other hand was stroking my breast. His lips were soon on my breasts, and I groaned again as I felt him gently stroking my nipple with his tongue, and nibbling on each of my nipples. I reached down and felt my wetness, and my hand covered his.
He started to work his way down my belly with his tongue and lips, and then his head was between my legs. I wrapped my ankles behind his neck, and he pulled off my jeans and panties. I flexed my feet in pleasure as he worked his tongue around my clit and inside of me, while his fingers explored my rear opening. I bucked up, feeling my entire body break out in goose pimples. A flush and warm sensation coursed throughout my skin, and my blood started pumping hard.
While his fingers continued to explore my ass, he worked his way down, kissing my inner thigh and nibbling it a tiny bit. He massaged my clit with his free hand, sending a burning sensation throughout my lower region. He pulsed his fingers in and out of my pussy, and gently tugged on my pussy lips. Then he was kissing my stomach again, making his way up to my breasts. He kissed both of my breasts, and then kissed my lips, running his hands through my hair.
I put my hand on his manhood, which was pitching a tent through his pants. He unbuttoned his pants and kicked them off, and I tore off his boxer-briefs. I flipped him over, and started kissing his neck, and I bit each of his nipples, before I went lower. I gently licked the head of his erection, and he moaned and thrust a little bit into my mouth. I put my hand on the bottom of his shaft, as my lips worked up and down, in rhythm with my hand. I gently squeezed his balls, and licked his opening, before returning my mouth to his enormous erection.
“Oh, god, Dalilah, that feels amazing,” he said, but then flipped me over on my back. “But I have to be inside of you right now.”
I nodded my head. I hadn’t wanted anything, ever, as much as I wanted him inside of me at that moment. Ever.
